


There's still a song inside the halls in the dark

by smaragdbird



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Cadets, Crying, Developing Friendships, Flirting, Gen or Pre-Slash, Getting to Know Each Other, Hugs, Ice Cream, M/M, Pre-Canon, The Drift (Pacific Rim)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 21:29:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29615706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smaragdbird/pseuds/smaragdbird
Summary: All the cadets are excited to try out their first drift. Jake's drift partner if Nate Lambert, who's treated like a pariah by the other cadets because he already had six failed drift partners and is considered bad luck.Jake, however, plans to show them how wrong they are. Clearly, Nate just hasn't met the right drift partner yet.
Relationships: Nate Lambert/Jake Pentecost
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21
Collections: Black Is Beautiful 2021





	There's still a song inside the halls in the dark

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Griselda_Gimpel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Griselda_Gimpel/gifts).



Jake shifted from one foot to the next as he waited with the other cadets to be let into the Kwoon combat room. Today they would fight against each other to figure out who had a chance of being drift compatible and who was not. The initial pairs had been picked by the psych analysts based on their previous test results but there could always be surprises. 

As much as he would’ve loved to try it, Mako wasn’t among the cadets. Despite her perfect simulator score, she was working in J-Tech restoring Jaegers. 

“I heard a rumour that they’re going to close the academy next year”, Yuna said next to him. She had a Korean accent and a shaved head. 

“They’re not really going to build a wall, that’d be stupid”, Jake replied despite having heard the same rumours. He wondered how it would be if his father was here. Would they be drift compatible?

On the other hand of the hallway, it became noisy and people moved away from the door. Jake craned his neck to see what was happening, but Josh saw it first.

“He’s got a lot of guts to show up here again”, he said, nodding towards the doors. 

Now that some of the cadets had moved aside, Jake could see that Nate Lambert had joined them. Again. This would be his seventh time trying to find a drift partner. 

“He’s bad luck”, Yuna whispered. Next to her, Pang nodded. 

“They usually wash you out after five failed drift partners”, Josh said, “wonder what he did to keep trying.” His tone left no doubt what Josh thought Nate had done to stay in the program.

Yuna wasn’t the only one who thought that Nate was bad luck. The others cadets had cleared a good amount of space between him and them. Jake felt bad for him. 

Leaving Yuna and Josh behind, he made his way to Nate and leaned against the wall next to him. “Hey.”

“Hi”, Nate said. They hadn’t interacted much before, Nate had already passed his classes, and tended to keep to himself when surrounded by other people. He was taller than Jake but scrawny in a way that spoke of many missed meals. However, that was pure speculation on Jake’s part because Nate never spoke about his life before the Jaeger Academy and aside from his American accent, no one knew where he came from.

“Nervous?” Jake asked. Nate certainly looked nervous. He had his arms crossed over his chest as if to protect himself. Some of the other cadets were still giving him dirty looks.

“Kinda”, Nate admitted. He sounded a little unsure as if he couldn’t understand why Jake was talking to him when the rest of the cadets were treating him as if he had the plague.

“I’m terrified”, Jake said cheerfully. “Do you know who your first partner is?”

“I don’t have one yet. They didn’t expect me. The drift only failed yesterday”, Nate told his shoes. 

That was a short recovery time, Jake thought, but then again, he knew that the PPDC needed new pilots.

“Well, I’ve been assigned to Yuna but I don’t think it’ll work out. So if you don’t mind waiting, I can be your first.”

“Why?” Nate asked. The silence had lasted so long that Jake had been sure Nate wouldn’t say anything at all.

“Yuna doesn’t like ice-cream. We’re definitely not drift compatible.” Jake knew that wasn’t what Nate had asked but they were being let into the Kwoon before Nate could clarify.

/

His fight with Yuna was as short as Jake had predicted. He didn’t know where the psych analysts had gotten their info but he couldn’t imagine that his and Yuna’s compatibility score had been very high.

As soon as they fight had finished, he waved at Nate. “Come on.”

Nate peeled off form the shadowy corner he had tried to hide in and walked towards Jake. Around them, the others cadets ceased their own fights in order to watch them. Jake wondered why. Nate always had shown high compatibility in the Kwoon with his partners, it was the actual drift that had failed. 

No wonder, Jake thought, when Nate broadcasted his every move. Jake could read him like an open book, could counter every step, every swipe of his staff. With Yuna, this had been a fight, short and hard, whereas with Nate it felt more like a dance.

So this was what it was like to be drift compatible, Jake thought as sweat was running over his face. His muscles ached but so far he had only been able to land one strike on Nate and had gotten none in return. Were the other cadets still watching? He didn’t take his eyes off of Nate to check.

Even training with Mako or with his dad hadn’t felt like this. 

A whistle sounded and both he and Nate lowered their staffs. Nate was just as sweat soaked as Jake, his face and bare arms flushed red. 

“Lambert, Pentecost, well done”, their trainer said. “You have pons training tomorrow 0900. The rest of you, get back to it.”

“That was awesome”, Jake cheered, grinning from ear to ear. “We should celebrate.”

Nate’s smile in return was wavering around the edges and sad in the middle. 

On the way to the showers, his trainer stopped him. “Sorry about that Pentecost, but you don’t have to worry. A failed drift with Lambert won’t count against you.”

“We’re not going to fail”, Jake said, still feeling high from his and Nate’s fight. 

“I’m only trying to prepare for the reality of the job”, his trainer replied. “But good luck tomorrow. You’re going to need it.”

Jake scoffed but didn’t say anything. He knew that tomorrow he and Nate would drift together. He could feel it in his bones.

Nate wasn’t in the showers when Jake arrived and he wasn’t in the barracks either. Given that cadets had limited access to the buildings, and that Nate kept to himself, it wasn’t hard to find him on the roof. The sun was setting, painting the waters of the pacific in golden colours. The last icebergs of the season were drifting south, spring having finally arrived. 

“Hey”, Jake said when he approached Nate who was leaning against the railing, staring out into the ocean. “Want to celebrate?” He showed the tub of ice-cream he had raided from the kitchen.

“Nothing to celebrate yet”, Nate replied but he took the spoon Jake offered him. “We haven’t drifted yet.”

“Then we get to celebrate again tomorrow night”, Jake answered and took the lid off. The choice of flavours hadn’t been great but you couldn’t go wrong with Neapolitan. “You’re a vanilla, strawberry or chocolate kind of guy?” 

“Do I have to choose?” Nate asked, dragging his spoon through all three.

Jake laughed and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. 

“Are you reading into my ice cream flavour choices?” Nate asked, frowning slightly. 

“Am I wrong?” Nate was kind of cute, in the same way chuck Hansen was, though most cadets were of the opinion that has father was the hottest ranger, an opinion Jake never wanted to hear again.

“I don’t…I mean…I don’t know?” Nate blushed. “Where did you even get ice cream?”

“The kitchen. You’d be amazed what people let you get away with if you’re the Marshall’s son. Though I should point out that these people have never met my dad or they would know that he doesn’t play favourites.”

Jake knew the rumours that he had only gotten a place at the Jaeger Academy because of his father. Started by people who had never spoken to Marshall Pentecost because that would’ve thoroughly abused of that notion.

Nate said nothing, only looked out onto the ocean as he ate the ice-cream. Jake didn’t mind silence but right now it felt strained. 

“My sister’s in J-Tech. She’s restoring Jaegers. If you could pick any Jaeger, which one would you choose?” 

“Romeo Blue”, Nate said. The question seemed to let him relax a little. “They took on Hardship on their own, at night.”

“Good choice, classic”, Jake nodded, “I’d take Shaolin Rogue. She can fight underwater, so we could take the fight to the Kaiju instead of waiting for them to come to us.” It was something he and Mako had played as kids, once even asking their dad why there weren’t Jaegers just stationed right next to the portal.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Nate was looking at him.

“You’re going to be a great pilot, Jake. Whatever happens tomorrow, don’t let it discourage you.” It was the same tone their trainer had used earlier, regretful as if tomorrow’s outcome was inevitable.

“No, we’re going to be great pilots. And tomorrow night, we’ll be back here, celebrating with ice-cream that has sprinkles.” Jake reached out and grabbed Nate’s arm. “Forget all the other people you tried to drift with. We’ve got this. I know we will.”

Nate ducked his head but Jake could see that he was smiling. “Okay.”

“Okay”, Jake grinned back. He glanced out at the darkened sky. In the west, the last colours were fading into the horizon while in the east the first stars had appeared. “Oh, hey look!” He pointed towards a shooting star streaking across the sky. “Make a wish.”

Nate actually closed his eyes and Jake could see his lips move. A wave of affection rolled through him. He closed the tub of ice-cream and put it on the ground. When he got up, Nate was watching him again, and the smile on his face felt like a secret passed just between the two of them.

Jake leaned against the railing so close to Nate that their shoulders were touching. Nate didn’t move away. “It’s kind of romantic, isn’t it? You, me, the stars…”

“Jake, don’t this”, Nate’s voice was very soft, like a startled hedgehog ready to bring out the spikes.

“I’m not doing anything”, Jake replied, managing to keep his voice calm while his heart was pounding in his chest. “I’m just saying you’re a cute guy and I’d like to kiss you.”

“You’re probably not going to think that tomorrow”, Nate replied. That he had said ‘probably’ was already a win in Jake’s book.

“And if I do? Can I kiss you then?”

“Sure”, Nate said, and immediately started blushing. “I mean….uhm…okay….I’d like that.” 

“Good”, Jake replied, grinning so hard it almost hurt. “Great. Remember, we’ve got this.”

/

Despite his bravado the night before, Jake felt so anxious about drifting that his knees almost failed. There was no preparation for a drift beyond some advice from Jaeger pilots that were limited in their usefulness. 

He still grinned at Nate before he put the helmet on. Usually, the live drift tests attracted the other cadets but given how sure their trainer was of their failure, he and Nate were left alone.

“Initiating Drift in Three…Two…One…”

There was no preparation for drifting because nothing could’ve prepared Jake for what it felt like. Two streams of memories flitted by him in rapid succession. He tried closing his eyes so he wouldn’t focus on one memory but it didn’t work like that.

These memories were in his head. In his and Nate’s.

Establishing a link was called a neural handshake and now Jake understood why. It felt like meeting Nate halfway, like taking a hand and holding onto it.

It felt right.

Jake released a shaky breath as a feeling of overwhelming gratitude passed through him.

“Neural handshake holding at 90%” A voice announced.

Jake felt tears running down his face. He opened his eyes, looked at Nate and saw that it was him, rather, who was crying. He smiled, triumphant with the knowledge that he had been right all along. 

Nate gave him a teary smile in return.

“Climbing to 95%.”

Want to try moving? He thought, eyes still locked with Nate.

Right hand first? It didn’t feel like the thought came from Nate. It felt like they had both thought it at the same time.

They lifted their right hands in unison. Then their left. Then they started walking.

You’re beautiful. The stray thought waved between them. Had he thought it or had Nate? It didn’t matter.

“100%”

See, I told you we could do it. His thought but he felt Nate’s relief and joy like a warm blanket on a cold night.

They went through a number of manoeuvres, some of which were told to them by their trainers but others came from memories, jaegers they had studied in class. Romeo Blue. Cherno Alpha. Shaolin Rogue. Coyote Tango.

When they came out of the drift, Jake had never felt more exhausted, more in need of a shower, or happier. He staggered forwards and grabbed Nate, who didn’t look any better than he did. They both collapsed onto the ground, still holding onto each other. 

“I told you”, Jake grinned. He took his helmet off and took a deep breath. 

Nate followed suit. His normally short, spiky hair lay flat against his head, making him look like a drowned cat.

Still pretty cute though.

Nate slumped forwards and rested his head on Jake’s shoulder. Jake wrapped his arms around him to give hm a little privacy because he could tell Nate was crying. 

“Those were some pretty long twenty minutes”, he said, while holding Nate close.

“That’s because it wasn’t twenty minutes”, their trainer announced as she walked into the room. Yesterday she had been regretful that Jake had been paired with Nate. Today, she looked impressed. “You drifted for four hours. That’s a new record.”

Nate sat up, hastily wiping his face though he couldn’t do anything about his red rimmed eyes. “Four hours?”

“Goes to show that sometimes all you need is the right partner”, she said, glancing from Nate to Jake. “Congratulations. Take the rest of the day off. Training begins tomorrow 0730. Dismissed.”

“Yes, ma’am”, they both said in unison. 

Nate got to his feet first, then held out a hand to help Jake up as well. As they got out of the drive suits, Jake said, “You know, I think we should re-negotiate yesterday’s terms. Four hours of drifting should really get me tow kisses at least.”

Nate stilled as if he was surprised that Jake would still want to kiss him. 

“Wait, actually, we were supposed to drift for twenty minutes. So it should be twelve kisses”, Jake continued. “Unless you don’t want to, of course. Then we’ll just forget about it.”

“Do we have to stop after twelve?” Nate asked, smiling shyly.

“Well, we’re going to drift tomorrow again, that’s at least another twenty minutes. And then after that…I think it’ll add up.”

“Does that mean we’ll have to find twelve ice-cream toppings for tonight?”

“See, this is why we’re drift compatible”; Jake said, bumping his shoulder into Nate’s arm on the way to the shower. “Let’s raid the kitchens and see.”


End file.
